Fastener



April 27, 1948.- E. w. LEHMAN ETAL 2,440,341

' PASTENER Filed Jan. 22, 1945 FIG.6

INVENTORS EUGENE W. LEHMAN EDWARD M. WHALEN ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 27, 1948 EdgeneWi Whailen;

Lehman; East Cleveland, and-"Edward" Cleveland, Ohio,- assi'gnors to: The 'Cleveland'lneumatic Tool Company,

CIevelaind,

Qhio', a corporation of Ohio Application January-22, 1945; Serial No. 573,833

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a-fastener for temporarily holding together perforated plates or'sheets in perforate alignment; preparatory'to the riveting thereof:

An important object of the invention is'to produce a fastener'or temporaiyrivet which may be readily applied to and removed'from the'work, the temporary rivet being constructed a manner forming a simple assembly which is strong, durable and efiicient.

Another object of the invention is-to provide a fastener capable or securing perforated metal sheets together in perfect perforate alignment wherei'n'the parts thereof' are'un ited a manner to preclude separate disengagement thereof should the fastener break while-"in use or while being applied to theshe'et's.

A further object of the'i nveiition to provide a temporary fastener wherein "there n-employed a compression spring adapted to be compressed for insertion or removal of thetastener the spring embodying means i for locking: the: several parts of the fastener'in au'nitarymanner.

Other objects and advantages more or less ancillary to the foregoing reside in the "specific construction and aggroi'tpn'ient of the elements peculiar to this structure, as-will become" apparent from a more complete enamination xoi this specification.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a'vertical sectional view with parts in elevation of the-improved fastener;

Figure 2 is a-view similarto-Fig-ure1 illustrating the position assumed-by the fastener during its insertion in the work;

Figure 3 is a similar view" illustratingjthe fastener in operative position;

Figure 4 is a" side elevational View of the fastener in operative position;

Figure 5 is asideelevational view eithe com pression spring; .t

Figure 6 is-an elevational view of the spreader which maintains the legs of the fasteners: out of contact;

Figure '7 is a" top plan and side. elevational view of the collar or cap which ismounted at the upper end of the fastener; 'and' Figure 8 is a verticalsectionalview with parts in elevation-of a modified forni of the invention.

Referring to the drawing for a more detailed description thereofithe new and improved-fas tener is generally designatedby the reference numeral I!) and comprises a cup-shapedhousing l l formed at its" upper end'with an: external.- annular-flange, and having its lower end formed 2 by'a-eross wallor base l3 with a cylindrical bore fl eaitending centrally therethrough.

Slidalol'y-mountedfwithin the housing ll'there is aretainer l5 which is preferably formed-of asihglepiece ofeylindrical material. This retaine'r" I5 is split throughout a portion of its length, as indicated at it; to provide a pair of legs H which project through the central bore l4. Each leg I! has its free endprovided with a'pointedend lflwhich forms an outwardly inclined. lateralprojection [9 for normally engaging the lower face of the base 13, as shown in Figure 1; but is-adapted to engage the under side of the work, as will be hereinafter explained. The centralmost portion 38" of the retainer 15 is preferably ofa greater diameter than the upperandlower ends thereof, as clearly shown iii-the drawing, and the upper end is formed with ail annular flange 20 which carries a removable G-shaped clamp 21. As presently shown, the clamp 2! when in position on the flange 20, is at least equal to or preferably greater than the diameter of the central-most portion 3flof tlie retainer.

Resting on the inner face of the base l3 and extending downwardly betweenthe legs I! there isa-spreader 22.- This spreader comprises ahead portion 23, tail portion 24, and cross arms 25. The arms: 25 normally engage the inner surface or the base l3 with the head and tail portions disposedbetween the legs I! for maintaming-said legs out'offcontact with one another, and forrpr'eventing inward lateral movement of the heads l8iwhen' the fastener is in sheet clamping engagement, as will ice-hereinafter more fully described.

interposed. between the shoulder 26 of the G shapediclamp 2lland the crossarms 25 of the spreader? 22",,there is a compression spring 21 whichsurrounds the retainer 15; This compres sion spring tapers-upwardly with its lower end 28 being of a diameter greater than its upper end 29which; in the expanded condition of the spring, grips the enlarged portion 30 of the retainer iii. The spring 2-1 is designed so that the inside'diameter of the upper end 29 is smaller than the diameterof the enlargedportion 39 of the? retainer it; to prevent detachment of the retain er should the -fastener become accidentally broken;

The housin H is dimpled as indicated at 3| to-form: snobs 32 adapted to be positioned. between; the coils of the spring 21 for locking the spring in the housing, whether it is fully compressed or'fully extended. The upper coils of the spring 2! in its expanded condition define a hollow truncated cone, the inside diameter of which near its upper end is slightly less than the diameter of the enlarged portion 30 of the retainer. Consequently, in the assemblage of the several parts, the retainer and spreader are first inserted through the bore I4 of the housing I I and then the spring is placed large end foremost over the retainer and compressed to bring the coils more nearly at right angles with the axis of the spring, thereby increasing the inside diam eter of the spring and permitting the end 29 to come just above the enlarged portion 30 so that the clamp 2i may be inserted between the spring and the flange 20. The dimples 3| are formed after the fastener has been assembled.

The fastener in accordance with the present invention has been primarily designed because of its safety features. It has been determined from past experiences that workmen have been seriously injured by parts of the fastener being thrown out of the housing. This is usually caused by breakage of the enlarged heads when the spring is under compression, and the tension of the spring tends to throw the retainer out of the housing with considerable force. This hazard is substantially eliminated by reason of the spring being held within the housing through the medium of the knobs 32, while the tight grip of the spring on the retainer caused by the tapered construction of the former will substantially prevent release of the retainer from the spring. The spring resting upon the cross arms 25 of the spreader will also preclude any possibility of the spreader flying out of the housing,

In the operation of the device, the compression spring 2? active between the collar 2| and the spreader arms 25 will normally urge the retainer I5 upwardly relative to the housing I I, causing the lateral projections I!) of the heads I8 to normally engage the base I3 as shown in Figure 1. In this instance, it will be understood that inward lateral movement of the heads I8 is prevented by the spreader 22 located therebetween.

The temporary fastener is applied to or removed from the work by use of a plier-like tool, the construction of which is well known in this art, one jaw of the tool engaging the under side of the annular flange I2 of the housing, and another jaw engaging the flange 20 of the retainer I5, Upon movement of the two jaws toward each other, the retainer I5 will be forced downwardly relative to the housin I I by compressing the spring 27 and causing longitudinal movement of the heads I8 away from the base I3 and out of operative engagement with the depending portion 24 of the spreader 22. The heads I8 are then free to be inserted through the aligned perforations 33 of the pair of sheets 34 and 35, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawing. It is to be understood that the legs I! are formed of a material having a certain degree of resiliency which tends to cause the heads I8 to spring toward each other when out of engagement with the spreader 22. The heads I8 when in the position shown in Figure 2, are of a diameter smaller than the sheet perforations 33. With the fastener in the position shown in Figure 2, the pressure exerted on the annular flange I2 and the flange 20 is released, and the retainer I5, due to the action of the compression spring 21, will again be urged upwardly relative to the housing I0, causing the heads I8 of said retainer to be separated or moved laterally away from each other by the spreader tail portion 24. This Will cause the lateral projections I9 to engage the under side of the lower sheet 35 for clamping the work between the heads I8 and the base I3. It is understood that the compression spring 2'! is sufiiciently strong to hold the sheets 34 and 35 tightly clamped and therefore against relative movement. This position of the fastener is shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing.

When it is desired to remove the fastener from the work, pressure through the plier-like tool may again be exerted on the fastener to compress the spring, as shown in Figure 2, in which instance the heads I8 will again spring toward each other to enable their withdrawal through the perforations 33. This removal of the retainer, should the retainer not be maintained perfectly coaxial with the perforations 33, is facilitated by the outwardly inclined projections I9 of the heads I8 simply sliding off the lower edge of the perforation of the lowermost sheet.

The fastener illustrated in Figure 8 of the drawing differs from the fastener previously described in the elimination of the C-shaped clamp 24. It will be noted that the annular flange 20 formed on the upper end of the retainer I5 has been enlarged so as to equal the diameter of the enlarged portion 33". By enlarging the annular flange 20' it forms a support for the upper end 29 of the tapered compression spring 21'. As in the previously described form, the spring 21 is designed so that the diameter of the upper end 29' is smaller than the-diameter of the enlarged portion 33 of the retainer I5 to prevent detachment of the retainer should the fastener become accidentally broken. In the assemblage of this modified form the same steps are followed as previously described except that, after the uppermost coils of the spring are expanded until they pass over the flange 20', they may be subsequently reformed or compressed radially to insure a more positive engagement with the flange 2,6. In all other respects the fastener illustrated in Figure 8 is identical with the fastener illustrated in Figure 1. This fastener is applied to and removed from the sheets in the manner previously described.

From the above description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it is thought to be readily apparent that there has been provided a fastener for temporarily retaining perforated sheets in perforate alignment wherein the compression spring is locked to the housing and the retainer is locked within the compression spring. Therefore, should breakage occur on the heads I8 or spreader 22 when'the fastener spring is under compression, there'will be precluded any possibility of the retainer or spring flying out of the housing with sufficient force to injure a workman. In fact, there is very little possibility of either the spring or the retainer becoming detached from the housing or being thrown therefrom. This breakage of the heads I8 and the spreader only occurs when the fastener is being applied to or removed from the work or when the fastener is in sheet clamping engagement. In other words, the spring must be under compression in order for there to be any hazard to the workman.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order to completely set forth the invention, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining and it is to be further understood that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of structural detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

We claim:

1. A fastener for temporarily holding together at least two perforated sheets in superposed relation, including a cup-shaped housing having a base adapted to rest on the upper sheet, a bore extending centrally through said base of a diameter substantially equal to that of the perforations of the sheets, a retainer slidable in said housing including two laterally resilient legs extending through said bore, an outwardly inclined projection on each of said legs below said base, said projections being laterally movable toward each other for insertion through aligned perforations of said sheets and laterally movable away from each other for engagement with the under side of the lower sheet, a rigid spreader member between said legs for normally urging said projections laterally away from each other, and an upwardly tapered spring urging said retainer upwardly relative to said housing for efiecting the spreading of said projections by said spreader and the consequent engagement of said projections with the under side of the lower sheet, and means for locking the lower part of said spring in said housing, the upper end of said spring engaging and gripping said retainer to prevent accidental release thereof from the housing.

2. In a fastener of the character described, a cup-shaped housing having a perforated base, a retainer slidable in said housing including two laterally resilient legs extending through said base perforation, an outwardly directed projection on each of said legs below said base, a spreader between said legs for normally urging said projections laterally away from each other, an upwardly tapered spring surrounding said retainer, the lower end of said spring being secured to said housing, the upper end of the spring when expanded gripping said retainer and preventing accidental release of the retainer from the housing.

EUGENE W. LE HMAN. EDWARD M. WHALEN. 

